Commenting on today’s written statement on Early Education
Update, Dr Mary
Bousted, Joint General Secretary
of the National Education Union, said:
“We are pleased the Government has bowed to pressure from
parents and educators by extending funding for maintained nursery
schools for a further two terms. But it is deeply damaging to
these schools that they have to live hand to mouth in this way.
The Department for Education’s own research shows that costs have
risen by 13.5% because of the impact of the National Living Wage
and because most people working in early years are on the
NLW.
“After three years of a funding freeze with absolutely no
money for Early Years, 8 pence per child per hour is an insult to
our nation’s children. The Government needs to invest a further
£230m to restore cuts to early years provision in order to stop
providers having to close down. We call on the Government, yet
again, to guarantee their future. These are the most highly rated
schools in the whole system.
“Early Years funding is a scandal and the Department for
Education needs to come clean about the resources they’ve
committed. We call upon the Secretary of State to comply with the
Information Commissioner’s recent demand to release by 14
November the underlying documents that will let the public see,
finally, the truth about Early Years funding.”
